The game of curling starts with flipping a coin. The two thirds must call heads
or tails; the third who wins normally gets the hammer*. The losing third
chooses rock colour. The team without the hammer must now go first.
This team’s skip places his broom in the house* at the opposite end from where the
lead must deliver his rock.( See "Placing the broom" for
more information.). The lead now delivers the first rock of his colour. He
slides out of the hack* and then releases the rock before he reaches the
hog line*.

While the rock is sliding down the ice, the skip chooses if he wants
for the sweepers*, who are the second and vice, to sweep or not. If he
decides to sweep he will call out "sweep". It means he wants the rock to
go straighter and/or farther because while sweeping you are cleaning the rock’s path
creating less friction. (For more information on the ice see "The
physics of curling") If the skip decides not to call for sweeping, it normally
means the rock is going at perfect speed, it is traveling too fast, or
it needs to curl more.

The rock must slide past the hog line and stay in the house to be
counted as a point. (See scoring for more information.). The lead on the
adversary team must now deliver a rock of his own colour. After both
leads have played two rocks each it is now the second's turn to deliver a
rock. The sweepers on both teams now become the lead and the vice. The
second’s team without the hammer must go next. This rule applies at
every time the first lead throws a rock, the first second throws a rock,
the first third throws a rock or the first skip throws a rock.

Every time a curler is about to deliver a rock, his team’s skip
should be at the other end of the ice placing his broom to give the
right amount of "ice". He shows the
curler, about to deliver the next stone, where he wants the stone to end
up. Once it is the skip's turn to deliver a rock, the third must now place
his broom where the skip and the vice have decided. The skip delivers his
rock. After all eight rocks from both teams are played, it's now time
for the scoring of that end. A game
consists of a certain number of ends*. It is normally eight or ten. An
end consists of eight rocks. At the end of the game, the team with the most points
wins the game.

Lexicon

End: One curling game is separated into
sections called ends. An end consists of eight rocks per
team.

Hammer: The last rock advantage

House: A twelve foot diameter circle which
is the scoring area. It contains two inner circles.

Hack: A wooden or metal plate placed at both
ends of the ice which the curler pushes himself off to begin
delivery of the stone.

Hog line: Line before which the stone must
be released at the delivery end, and line which the stone must cross
at the house end, in order to remain in play.

Sweepers: People on the ice sweeping in front of the
path of the rock.